The Unknowns
by Goldmoonrider
Summary: The Unknowns: no one's met them, not until now. They were the lower cats of the Clans, the unnoticed and left out cats. But now they are rising, and soon, you will know them. They are the Unknowns!
1. Allegiances

So, have you ever looked through the warrior cat books and noticed that as each cat comes along the Clan grows bigger and bigger than it was when you started reading at Into the Wild? Well, I have, and, if you read through each book and look at each character, you'll notice that a lot of times when a character is mentioned, say in Tallstar's Revenge, such as Deadfoot's siblings, they are usually never put in the Allegiances. So, that got me to thinking, what if there are more cats in ThunderClan than just the main cats in the stories you read. Think, shouldn't each Clan be bigger at the beginning of the warrior books than what the size of it is? I mean, if you look at the Manga clip from Bluestar's Prophecy, you'll see how big of a Clan she is talking too when off you look at the Allegiances in Into the Wild, there are WAY less cats than that. Well, now you get to meet the rest of this big group. Meet, the Unknowns!

**Allegiances:**

**ThunderClan** (none of the Characters from the books will be placed in the Allegiances, but they will possibly pop up randomly throughout the book)-

_Leader:_ Bramblestar- dark brown tabby tom

_Deputy:_ Squirrelflight- dark ginger tabby she-cat

_Medicine cat:_ Jayfeather- gray tom with blind blue eyea

_Medicine cat apprentice:_ Cavepaw

_Warriors:_

Blackstone- black-and-white tom

Hawkblaze- light ginger tabby tom

Gorsefoot- dark Gray she-cat

Apprentice: Whitepaw

Eagleflight- dark brown tom

Apprentice: Featherpaw

Windlift- pale silver she-cat

Wildfire- dark ginger she-cat

Jadestone- white tabby tom

Stripestone- striped silver tom

Sparrowfoot- fluffy brown tom

Apprentice: Waterpaw

Clayfoot- Sandy ginger she-cat

Lilyflower- pale ginger she-cat

_Apprentices:_

Cavepaw- black tom

Whitepaw- white she-cat

Featherpaw- silver tabby she-cat

Waterpaw- dark Gray tom

_Queens:_

Bluemoon- blueish Gray she-cat (mother of Hawkblaze's kit Gingerkit- pale ginger kit with Gray tabby stripes on tail)

Snowflower- snowy white she-cat (expecting Eagleflight's kit's)

Willownose- pale Gray she-cat (expecting Jadestone's kit's)

_Elders:_

Sharpstone- Gray tom with long silver tail

Palesun- peach-colored she-cat

Redfoot- dark red tom

**ShadowClan-**

_Leader:_ Rowanstar- dark ginger tom

_Deputy:_ Tigerheart- dark brown tabby tom

_Medicine Cat:_ Mistflame- pale Gray she-cat

_Warriors:_

Firestone- flaming ginger tom with light Gray paws and ears

Lakewood- silver she-cat

Apprentice: Shadepaw

Bearclaw- dark brown tom

Chasetail- long-legged white-and-black tom with long black tail

Brakenflake- dark gray tom

Tallpine- long-legged black she-cat

Blacknose- light gray tom with pitch black nose

Foxflame- fluffy orange-red she-cat with black muzzle and tail tip

Badgerfang- black tom with white stripes going from forehead to tail

Stonepelt- Gray she-cat

Apprentice: Yewpaw

Softfoot- soft pale silver she-cat

_Apprentices:_

Shadepaw- light silver tom

Yewpaw- yellow-colored she-cat

_Queens:_

Frecklesnow- white she-cat with black spots dotting her muzzle area like freckles (mother of Chasetail's kit's Goldkit, white she-cat with unusual golden paws and Coalkit, black tom with white patches)

Yellowlash- yellow-colored she-cat with pitch-black claws (mother of Yewpaw, Shadepaw, and Pinekit, Badgerfang's kits)

Stormfang- dark gray she-cat (expecting Firestone's kit's)

_Elders:_

Willowburn- silver tabby she-cat

**WindClan-**

_Leader:_ Onestar- tabby tom

_Deputy:_ Ashfoot- Gray she-cat

_Medicine Cat:_ Kestrelflight- mottled gray tom

_Warriors:_

Flyfoot- Sandy Brown she-cat

Harejump- light brown tom

Hopstone- jet black tom

Stagleap- black tom with brown underbelly

Sharptalon- gray tom

Shrewclaw- light brown tom

Apprentice: Pigeonpaw

Grayflight- dark gray tom

Apprentice: Fawnpaw

Flowerstem- golden-brown she-cat

_Apprentices:_

Pigeonpaw- light Gray she-cat

Fawnpaw- dark Gray she-cat

_Queens:_

Dawnflower- blue-silver she-cat (mother of Harejump's kit's Lionkit, Whitekit and Bubblekit)

_Elder's:_

Flamesky- silver-Gray tom with ginger tail tip

**RiverClan-**

_Leader:_ Mistystar- blue-gray she-cat

_Deputy:_ Reedwhisker- black tom

_Medicine cat:_ Mothwing- dappled-golden she-cat

_Medicine cat apprentice:_ Willowshine- gray tabby she-cat

_Warriors:_

Redflower- red-ginger she-cat

Tigerfang- ginger tabby tom with black stripes

Jaywillow- dark ginger she-cat

Ryestalk- black tom with white underbelly

Wasptooth- light gray tom

Greenear- gray she-cat

Rainstorm- mottled blue-gray tom

Beesting- snowy white she-cat with tabby patches

Apprentice: Icepaw

Watersplash- blue-gray tom

Owleyes- blue-gray she-cat

Apprentice: Brownpaw

_Apprentices:_

Icepaw- white she-cat with unusual white eyes, not blind

Brownpaw- dark brown tabby tom

_Queens:_

Newberry- black she-cat (mother of Kindlekit and Stripekit, Reedfeather's kit's)

_Elders:_

None


	2. Chapter 1

"Watch out!" Gingerkit yelped as she slid down the icy forest path excitedly, Waterkit on her tail, yowling with excitement. The trees fluttered past like birds as the two kit's flew down the path towards the camp, too fast for any hawk to catch in it's hunt. In front of them, the camp slowly came into view, glowing white with the newest of leaf-bare's finest snow. Gingerkit squeaked as she flew into the air over a bump on the path and landed in a pile of fresh snow, Waterkit falling in behind her.

"And what do you kit's think you're doing?" A voice, muffled in Gingerkit's buried ears, meowed above.

Both kits gulped and lifted their heads to see Blueflower staring down at them. Gingerkit gulped once more and picked her way neatly out of the snow pile, wide eye pupils up on her mother.

Waterkit jumped out of the snow, shaking his pelt out and looking up at the queen. "We were Ice Sliding!" He mewed proudly, shaking a bit of dirt and Ice out of his pelt.

"Waterkit!" The two kits looked behind the blue queen in front of them to see Windlift, Waterkit's mother, running up to them. "Your pelt! Come, you need to get washed up before your apprentice ceremony!"

Gingerkit watched them pad away, then looked back up at Blueflower. "Come, you need a bath to." Her mother meowed simply, flicking some dirt off the kit's tail with her long tail. Gingerkit lowered her tail unhappily but followed her mother obediently.

* * *

"Waterkit, Whitekit and Featherkit, please come forth." Bramblestar meowed, looking down upon them as he sat high above on Hightstone.

The kits squeaked with excitement and bounded forward, each one with freshly cleaned pelts. Gingerkit watched from beside her mother and father, both watching with glistening eyes.

Once the kits had lined up on the Highstone, Bramblestar started, pointing his brown chin up towards the sky. "StarClan, we ask that you look upon these three kits as they become apprentices and ask that they find favor in your eyes.

"Now, Whitekit, from this day forth until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Whitepaw. Gorsefoot, you have not trained an apprentice yet, so I give you Whitepaw. I hope you train her the way Graystripe did. Waterkit, from this day forth you will be known as Waterpaw. Sparrowfoot, you lost you're apprentice Flightpaw to a rogue monster. I trust you will train Waterpaw as well as you did Flightpaw. And, last but not least, Featherkit, from this day forth until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Featherpaw. Eagleflight, I trust you will be able to train Featherpaw as I taught you." He dipped his head to the new apprentices and stepped back as they padded up to greet their new mentors.

"Waterpaw! Featherpaw! Whitepaw!" The Clan chanted the names of their new apprentices happily, and, once the cheers had slowed to an end, the Clan mingled around, congratulating the new cats with pride and dignity.

Gingerkit bounced up to Waterpaw happily and smiled a greeting to him. "Congratulations!" She mewed loudly over the noise of her fellow Clanmates.

Waterpaw grinned. "Now that I'm an apprentice, you'll have to do what I say." He meowed just as loud.

Gingerkit purred with delight and backed away so Cavepaw, the medicine cat apprentice, could come and congratulate Waterpaw. She sighed tiredly and padded to where her parents sat, gazing over at the new apprentices, and purred, snuggling into her mother's fluffed-out tail.

"Come on, then." Blueflower purred, standing up and flicked her tail for Gingerkit to stand. "Time for bed. It's past moonhigh and you've had a long day." She turned and trotted into the nursery, curling up in her nest and watching as Gingerkit jumped inside, yawning with a drowsy growl. The young kit sighed happily and curled up into a tight ball beneath her mother's tail, falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Missed me!" Gingerkit mewed, dodging the next snowball. Across camp, Clayfoot grinned and flung another ball of snow towards her with her long tail. The young kit dodged the next ball and leapt onto a stump, waving her tail high above her mockingly.

The warrior raced for another ball of snow, gathering it up and throwing it towards her. She back-flipped over the ball and landed on her paws proudly. Her father had taught her that trick, saying it was a move she would learn as an apprentice in her tree-fighting training.

Clayfoot looked surprise as she landed back on the stump, on all four paws. "Who taught you that one?" She asked, padding up to Gingerkit.

"Hawkblaze." Gingerkit purred happily.

"Well," Clayfoot sat down beside the stump. "Looks like a perfect move for when you're battling snowballs." She meowed with amusement. She stood up, rubbed Gingerkit's forehead with one of her ice-cold paws, and padded over to where a few of the warriors were gathered to talk about patrols for the next sunrise.

As Gingerkit watched the older warrior go, a thick familiar scent wafted over her and she looked to her left to see Bramblestar sitting beside her, facing forward. As soon as she saw him, her legs and tail stiffened and her ears felt hot with terror.

Bramblestar seemed to notice because he turned his large head to face her. "Dont worry, Gingerkit. I may be leader but that doesn't make me any higher than any other cat in the Clan."

Gingerkit's ears burned with embarrassment now as she realized how babyish she seemed. "Oh, uh, yes, Bramblestar, sir." She squeaked out the words, not knowing how else to put them.

"You don't need to call me sir. Like I said, we're all equals, no matter what rank we are in." He let out a deep, rumbling purr, so loud the young kit had to pull back her ears so they wouldnt get blasted out. Once he had finished, he stood up, shook out his thick pelt, and looked at her. "How about a game of Snowballs?"

Gingerkit's eyes lit up excitedly at the mention of playing. "Sure! No cheating!" She yelped as she pounced off the stump and onto the snow-covered ground. As she landed on the ground, she looked around and realized Bramblestar had hidden himself.

"Hey!" She squeaked as a large snowball smashed into the side of her face and she looked back up at the stump to see that Bramblestar had set up a sort of fortress of snow on top of it. "I said no cheating!" She yowled and dodged another snowball, flicking up a ball of snow with hher paws and hitting it as hard as she could with her thick tail, hitting Bramblestar right in the nose.

Bramblestar stayed standing like he had been as the snow fell off his face. He grinned and leapt off the stump, landing behind Gingerkit and spraying a whole pile-worth of snow over her. She yelped and tried to escape it, but it was no use as she was hurried beneath the glistening white.

"I win." Bramblestar padded over to her and flicked snow off her nose with his tail.

Gingerkit growled playfully and bounded out of the snow like a bird off the ground, landing as his paws and jumping onto his back, shoving snow into his fur with her paws. Bramblestar stood onto his hind paws, snarling like a badger. Gingerkit yowled and clamped on with her Claw's, holding tight as he lumbered along on his hind-legs. Being a kit was defenetly a good life.


	3. Chapter 2

Gingerkit lay in a shady spot next to the nursery, flicking her tail with boredom. Today she had turned six moons old, but her ceremony wasn't till later that night. Most of the warriors were out on patrols or training sessions, though a few cats whom she didn't recognize were still watching the camp. Her mother, who had been allowed to go back to her normal duties a moon ago was out on a border patrol with Gingerkit's father and Bramblestar to check and make sure no ShadowClan cats had cross the border again.

About half a moon ago a ShadowClan patrol had crossed the border and caught with few squirrels and mice on ThunderClan territory, then had left their scent markers further into the forest than normal. Ever since then the Clan had been on high alert, sending out one patrol after another every hour, even night. Although ShadowClan hadn't crossed the boxer since, Gingerkit knew Bramblestar would want to be safe.

"Waterpaw!" Across camp, the young she-cat saw Waterpaw come into camp with his siblings and their mentors. She guessed they had just finished training and padded over to greet them.

"Hey," she mewed, an excited tone rising up through her voice. "Did you bring back any good moves to teach me?" She asked, bouncing beside Waterpaw like a little kit. When she realized she was acting like she was 2 moons old, she calmed herself down, though excitement still flowed through her.

Waterpaw flicked his tail. "No, can't. Gotta go on another patrol with my mentor before I start my first assessment. See ya." He padded over to talk with his mentor, leaving Gingerkit standing, stunned by the edge in the older cat's voice.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey meet below High Ledge for a meeting of the Clan!" Gingerkit perked up as Bramblestar called the meeting and quickly bounded over to her mother to get cleaned up before she would be named an apprentice.

Once she had been cleaned, Gingerkit followed her other out into the clearing where anxious cats awaited. Bramblestar sat on the High Ledge above his den, gazing down at the young kit. She purred excitedly and padded through the crowd up to the leader.

"Now, we all know Gingerkit has been waiting to become an apprentice." He meowed, looking back up at the rest of the Clan. "And today she has finally turned the correct age to become one. Gingerkit," he said, looking back down at her. "From this day forth until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Gingerpaw. Wildfire, you have not had an apprentice in a while so I hope you will be able to keep Gingerpaw out of the trouble Cherryfoot got you into."

Down below, Gingerpaw saw Wildfire come through the crowd, her fur nicely groomed back as if she had expecting to get Gingerpaw as her apprentice. Gingerpaw wondered why Bramblestar had made Wildfire her mentor, since they were kin. Wildfire was her mother's littermate, and normally the leader wouldn't want kin teaching kin, since they might go easy on their apprentice. Other cats in the crowd seemed to wonder this as well, for there were some murmurs and mrrows coming from one cat to the next.

As Gingerpaw followed her mentor down to the crowd, Bramblestar cleared his throat and asked for every cat's attention. "I know you have a few..." He stopped as if to think for the correct word. "Words, to tell me, but this is the decision I was told to make by StarClan."

Gingerpaw watched silently as one of the cats in the crowd stood up. "When has StarClan ever helped us when we needed it, huh? And how do they know if it was the right decision? They're just ancestors, not gods!" Gingerpaw gasped as she recognized the cat as Waterpaw, but knew it wasn't her place to speak.

"Waterpaw, sit down please." Bramblestar meowed in an unsteady calmness. "No, they are not gods or God himself, but they are our ancestors and they know what is right and what is wrong. Don't forget that they did tell us about the on coming war, and they also sent Bluestar the sign that Firestar was the one to save the Clans, and don't forget-"

"Don't forget what, old man?" Waterpaw hissed, his long tail lashing. "Those cats are just like us, always following orders from the highest one, being like horses with two-legs. But maybe it's time to stop following orders and start listening to ourselves for a change, start being free of orders and tradition. Stay here if you want, and keep following orders. I'm through with orders and rules. I'm making my own Clan and showing you what freedom really is."

Gingerpaw watched with wide eyes as Waterpaw raced through the crowd and out of camp. Before any other cat could oppose, she jumped up and raced after him, ignoring the darkness she was plunging in to. "Waterpaw! Come back!"

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see him running towards the northern point of ThunderClan territory, moving faster than she had ever seen him go in snow. She hissed, irritated, and bounded through the cold white after him, hoping to get to him before he got to the border, and before her paws froze. She slowly caught up to him, her paws throbbing in paw. "Waterpaw, please, come back to ThunderClan. Don't do this!"

The older cat just laughed lightly. "As if. Don't you realize how much the rules are holding us back from our true purpose and talents, how much it's keeping us from expanding into the new world?"

The two slowed down as they came to the border and Waterpaw stood and faced her. "Come with me, Gingerpaw. We can make this new world together, you and I. We can make a better place for cats. A please were independence thrives and cats and be free. Come with me, please. I can't bear to think of going without you." His eyes twinkled with hope in the light of the moon.

Gingerpaw knew what he was asking, for a world without order, a world of chaos. Finally, without meeting his eyes, she let out a cold breath. "No." She stood straight, hoping he might change his mind. But Waterpaw just shook his head sadly and turned to leave.

"I will return for you, I promise." And with that, he bounded off into the darkness of the outer lands.


	4. Chapter 3

The words of her friend stuck with Gingerpaw as she slowly walked back to camp. 'I'll come back for you, I promise.' She shook out her wind-frozen fur and dipped her head low so the brambles of the camp entrance didn't brush her forehead. The Clan was bustling about, murmuring a few uneasy words back and forth. Wildfire, Bramblestar and a few other warriors were trying to quiet every one down, but no one was listening. Over to the side of the camp, Waterpaw's parents were sitting, heads low and words silent in the clamor of the others.

As her paws set foot in the camp, all the Clan turned to her, now silent and ears listening. She shifted beneath the gaze of every cat, especially that of Windlift and Blackstone. Their eyes bored into her like a rabbit into it's burrow.

"Well?" Bramblestar came forward. "What did he say?"

Gingerpaw's mind raced and she lowered her head. "He left." Her pelt itched as the rest of the Clan whispered loud words back and forth, most of them questions to either StarClan or Gingerpaw.

Bramblestar nodded and turned to his cats. "ThunderClan, we must not dwell on what happened tonight. Waterpaw chose to leave,"His words were oddly vicious, making Gingerpaw wonder if maybe something like this had happened before. "And now we must live with it. Come, we have a gathering tomorrow night. Let us get some rest before the early patrols." Turning to a few cats close to him, he left Gingerpaw on her own.

The young cat sighed and padded towArds the apprentice den, her mind still on Waterpaw. She crouched into the warm den and curled up into her nest, closing her eyes to get some some sleep.

"Is it true he isn't coming home, Gingerpaw?" The voice of Whitepaw, Waterpaw's littermate, yowled into her ears and she opened her eyes quickly, tail flicking in annoyance.

Featherpaw, Waterpaw's sister, came close to Gingerpaw until her nose was almost touching the ginger she-cat's. "What did Waterpaw tell you right before he left? Did he mention us? Is he gonna come back for us?"

Gingerpaw sat up and shook out her fur. "No. He said he was going to come back for me and take me with him." She pulled her forepaws over her ear. "And that he's gonna make his own Clan. That's all he said. Goodnight," With a strong huff, she turned over and flattened her ears, trying to keep out the loud murmuring of the two other apprentice's as much as she could.

Before long, Claypaw entered the den and yawned loudly. "Well, goodnight y'all." Gingerpaw could hear his paw-steps as he came closer, till suddenly she jumped in her nest just before he plopped down on top of her.

"Hey, watch it!" She hissed and watched as the older cat sat up, blinking in a confused manner.

"What'd I do?" He asked, rubbing his huge paw over his ear.

Gingerpaw snorted. "You almost squashed me like a bug!"

The black tom shook his head, as if trying to jog his memory. "But, this is my nest. How could I have squashed you? Wouldn't you be in the newbie nest over in the far corner?" He pointed to a small nest towards the back of the den.

Suddenly, the ginger she-cat's ears grew hot with embarrassment and the fur on her neck lowered. "O-oh, I-I'm so-orry, I had no idea!" She tried to step back but instead found herself bumping into another cat. Her ears teared up as she felt eyes on her, and embarrassment flowed hot through her. Her heart pounded in her chest and her legs felt numb. Not taking a second look, she streaked out of the den, leaving the other cats behind.

Tears streamed down her fur as she raced through the not-yet dispersed crowd of cats and plunged into the forest, her paws thundering on the ground. She heard no cries or pleads for her to return to camp, so she kept running, the wind streaming down her sleek body and made her fur lie flat against her. The trees around her were just a blur of green and brown as she passed them, and no bushes or branches were able to stop her from her voyage to the outskirts of the territory. Coming closer to where she had wanted to be, she slowed her self to a steady canter and finally into a walk.

She could barely see the moon through the leaves above her, but there was enough light for her pupils to dilate to full size, making it brighter around her. Glancing around, she rested herself on a flat rock by a small pond, wrapping her tail neatly beside her. She sighed and she felt her whole body relax by just being out in the open, away from the never ending questions of the Clan. Finally, after she felt she had rested enough, her mind returned to Waterpaw's message and she tensed up, her fur standing on edge.

His voice still rung in her ears. Why it did, she had no idea, and why the question had been this unnerving on her seemed strange as well. Did she feel like maybe he was going to kidnap her, make force her to stay with him until they grow old and wither away? Maybe it did mean that, which definitely meant she had to worry. She didn't want a life of chaos, of misery and of no rules or code to follow. She liked the say she lived now, and she was happy with following orders, especially when it has to do with battle training or hunting patrols.

'Hunting Patrols...' She thought, her belly growling with hunger. Shaking out her fur, she raced back into the deeper parts of the forest and sniffed out the area for any possible prey she could catch. Nothing came to her nose, and she growled in frustration, padding back out towards the border, her jaws barley parted to let in all the scents of the forest. Coming closer to the markers, she could smell no-man's land, the musky scent of fog and predators covered the air. Breathing in the cold night air, she smiled as she caught a whiff of mouse scent and followed it, keeping low to the ground and tail below her hips. Making her way forward, she could tell how close it was getting, and quickly slowed down, trying to keep herself steady incase it decided to run.

With a push of her legs, she bounding forward, the wind rushing at her face. It happened so fast, it was already being chomped on once she realized she had actually caught it. Smiling with content, she finished up her meal, covered it quickly with dirt and padded back towards camp, sleepiness finally setting in.

**Sorry guys for the abrupt ending, I just couldn't get any further than that. Well, that concludes chapter 3, look onward for chapter 4, cause it's gonna be great! -Goldmoonrider**


	5. Chapter 4

The sound of leaves rustling above her woke Gingerpaw from her deep sleep and she yawned lightly. Glancing around, the memories of the night before returned to her and she shivered as she realized she was exposed to the cold morning winds. A sharp, freezing wind brushed through her fur and she stood up, stretching out her back and jumping out of the small hollow she had made her 'nest' in.

It was nearly dawn, and the sun was still barely touching the horizon. Hunger gripped at her belly and she sniffed the air, hoping for even the faintest scent of prey. Slowly, she began to walk towards where she had caught the mouse just the day before and smelled the dew-damp earth. Nothing new, but she didn't care. She had become absent minded with the thoughts of Waterpaw.

A deep breeze pushed through her fur and made her tense up with a shiver. Her ears flickered back and forth, their tips freezing up with the cold. Gingerpaw licked her frosty nose and padded downhill towards camp. She didn't want to go back and return to her normal duties, although she didn't find them that hard, but she knew Wildfire wouldn't like it if she was late to her first training session.

As she swept in quickly through the entrance, she saw her mother and father sitting across camp, their heads low and their voices hushed. The apprentice's paws danced on the dirt and her pelt itched with the unwanted fear of what her parents might yell at her about.

"Gingerpaw!" Bluenose looked up at her kit and raced towards her, Hawkblaze following quickly behind. The mother and daughter touched noses, then Bluenose stood back, anger raging in her eyes.

"Where were you all night, Gingerpaw?" Hawkblaze growled. "Bramblestar had to send out a search party just to find you!"

Her tail swept low on the ground. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to cause so much trouble-"

"Well you did!" Bluenose shot angrily. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, you'll be cleaning out the elder's den for a week. Do you understand?!"

"Is she back?" Exiting from the leader's den was Bramblestar, who's amber eyes were locked to Gingerpaw's own green eyes. "Where were you?"

"In the forest..." She mewed in a lower ton than she had anticipated.

Bluenose growled. "First one leaves, then the next one follows." She meowed, leading her mate away from their distraught kit.

For a few moments, Bramblestar watched the mates stalk off, then gazed back at Gingerpaw. "Why did you run away? You had no reason to."

Gingerpaw felt foolish as she explained. "I got embarrassed by one of the older apprentices..."

"Embarrassed or just told you where your nest was?"

"Yes..."

The leader purred a chuckle. "I understand how you feel. I didn't feel like I fit in as a kit either, but look at me now? Leader of a Clan I once thought was trying to kick me out. That's because I kept my head up and work as hard as I could."

Gingerpaw watched the older tom walk back towards a group of gather cats and sighed. "I guess..."

* * *

"Keep your tail tucked low, and make sure to not move your whiskers too much," Wildfire analyzed her apprentice as Gingerpaw demonstrated her hunter's crouch in the tall grass of the clearing just beside the ShadowClan border.

Gingerpaw tucked down her tail and gritted her teeth. She'd been attempting to perfect the position since she'd been taught it, and Wildfire acted like she had gotten it all wrong.

"Why can't I just attack it like I attack an enemy cat?" She meowed, still keeping her stance. "It can't be so hard."

Wildfire stared at her apprentice. "A mouse can easily find a way to out maneuver you, and a squirrel can jump up a tree faster than you can find a way to claw up. Fighting a cat and fighting prey are two completely different things. You can never think of them in the same context, or else you will either not catch dinner for your kits, or lose a fight you could have easily won."

Gingerpaw huffed and stood up again. "Fine. Am I finished?"

The mentor sighed. "Yes, I guess you are. I'll see you later for Dusk patrol, so be practicing your hunting skills for the rest of the afternoon."

The older cat padded off, leaving her ginger apprentice to flick her tail in unhappiness. Gingerpaw licked her forepaw and rubbed it over her ear a couple times before sighing and yawning.

"Whatever..." She mewed to herself and padded back towards camp. "Doesn't matter. I won't be needing it for the moment anyway. I don't need to know how to hunt to be a good warrior."

She padded back into camp and towards the fresh-kill pile. Before arriving, she stopped at the confronting of a large black tom.

"Hey, Gingerpaw, isn't it?" He meowed in a deep voice.

The she-cat gave a startled look. "Umm, yes? Can I help you?"

"You accidently were in my nest last night, correct?"

Gingerpaw's fur became cold on her skin. "I guess... I'm... I'm sorry."

He purred in amusement, making the younger she-cat's ear tips grow red-hot. "It's okay, no harm, no foul. Sorry for almost squashing you like a mouse, by the way. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd maybe like to share a rabbit with me? We could go catch it together if you like prey fresh..."

Gingerpaw stared at him for a moment. "Umm, oh, I... I guess we could."

The tom's eyes glimmered. "Oh, yes, my name's Cavepaw, or did you already know that?"

Gingerpaw just nodded, then followed the large tom out of camp, not glancing back to see if Bluenose or Hawkblaze were watching. She wanted some time away from them, and if that meant she had to go out and hunt, then so be it.


End file.
